City Council to vote next week on $2.384 million in cuts to 2024-25 Fiscal Year budget

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council will vote on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to approve an ordinance that calls for making $2.384 million in cuts to the 2024-25 Fiscal Year budget.

The Finance Committee, which met an hour before the City Council met on Monday night, voted to send the amended budget to the full City Council. Aldermen could have voted on the amended budget Monday, but Comptroller Sheri Ray joined the Finance Committee meeting by phone as she recovered at home from a medical procedure.

“Since I’m out this week, it’s not likely that I’m going to be able to get my budget sheets ready for the department heads,” Ray said. “If (the aldermen) don’t feel comfortable passing it on the floor tonight, it can wait until next week.”

Ray said two more personal property replacement tax (PPRT) dispersals are expected from the state, and the city is anticipating a total of $4.867 million in PPRT money — down from $7.223 million received last year.

Reductions in the general fund ranged from 18 percent in the building maintenance fund and 15 percent in the comptroller’s fund to as little as 1 percent in the fire department budget and 2 percent in the police department budget. The overall department cuts are 4 percent of what would become a $61,339,112 budget if approved by the City Council.

“Sheri presented the detail changes to the department heads, and they’ve all taken a look at their budgets,” Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said. “There was no pushback.”

Other large cuts were an 8 percent drop (totaling $261,000) in the Quincy Public Library’s funding and a $577,400 cut (2 percent) to the capital projects fund (now at $24.873 million).

Jeff Mays, director of administrative services, explained to the Finance Committee the methodology that was used to make the cuts.

“Sheri’s department was awesome. They printed out the eight-month spending to date, and then they took the next four months of spending from last year (January through April) and added that to the spend that we’ve had to date,” Mays said. “We came up with a figure, and that figure we then translated to their budget. If it showed that they weren’t spending out at a rate that would spend out the entire line on that, then that line was what we discussed with them about reducing. We did that on every line that we could, rather than apply a meat axe approach and say ‘2 percent cut across the board.’ 

“Some agencies have more. Some had spending plans that weren’t panning out to spend as they originally thought. Some budget spends came in way under budget. Those are the ones that we took. It was a lot more time-consuming than to say, ‘I want 2 percent from you and 2 percent from you.’’

Ray said healthcare was a major area where savings were identified.

“In the general fund, like City Council, mayor and the treasurer, those are all departments where a big chunk of those savings was healthcare and IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund),” she said. “We also kind of used the approach that if you had something budgeted for capital outlay and you hadn’t spent it in the first eight months, we basically cut capital spending from now to the end of the year. That’s another reason why it doesn’t look consistent across.”

She also said open positions in the comptroller’s office and planning will not be immediately filled.

In other action, aldermen:

• Sent requests from the Otis Company to rezone 504 N. 54th from rural/agricultural (RU1) to
• general commercial (C2) to allow for retail/commercial development and to subdivide the same property (from one lot to five lots) property under the “small tracts” provision of the subdivision ordinance to the Plan Commission.
• Permitted the American Businesswomen Association Quincy Charter Chapter to conduct a raffle and have the bond requirement waived through April 5.
• Approved a five-year contract renewal beginning April 27 with Inframark of Houston, Texas, for the management and operation of the wastewater treatment plant.
• Rejected a bid of $2,115,602 from Laverdiere Construction of Macomb for the Quincy
• Regional Airport roof replacement project, which will be redesigned and bid on later.
• Approved a three-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $45,000 for wildlife management services for a period beginning on April 1.
• Approved an ordinance amending the traffic code to rezone light industrial (M1) to single-family residential (R1C) at 1900 N. 18th, 1910 N. 18th and 1920 N. 18th.
• Approved an ordinance amending the traffic code authorizing the Quincy Police Department to tow/impound motor vehicles involved in criminal activity or whose driver is operating the vehicle under the influence or without a valid driver’s license within the city of Quincy.
• Approved an ordinance amending the traffic code to remove a fire lane on Third Street on
• south side of Vermont.
• Approved an ordinance amending the traffic code to add 100 feet of “No Parking” on the east side of Third Street, extending north a distance 135 feet from the centerline of Vermont.
• Approved an ordinance amending the traffic code to add “No Parking” on the north side of Vermont, extending west a distance of 130 feet from the centerline of North 10^th.

While doing business as supervisors for Quincy Township, aldermen approved a proposal from Barnard Elevator Company for $109,774,83 to modernize the elevator inside the Two Rivers Regional Council of Public Officials Community Service and Weatherization Office at 706 Maine.